A preseason finale with half the roster out of uniform has no business being as fun as it was today throughout the Saints' 30-27 loss to the Titans.
We had a Louisiana kid finding his way into the end zone -- TWICE. We had the Spencer Rattler hype train reaching dangerous speeds. We even had a 106-yard return of a missed field goal that missed being an ultimate highlight by a matter of inches. The regular season is two weeks away, and it's going to be fun.
With all that in mind, here's my 3 up, 3 down and honorable mention players after the preseason finale.
THREE UP
BACKUP BATTLE
The only reasonable way to assess the backup battle is to talk about Spencer Rattler and Jake Haener at the same time, and that's what we'll do. That said, one of those two came away from this game with much stronger vibes than the other. Haener took the first and third quarters as well as the final two drives, while Rattler took the second and fourth quarters.
Saints head coach Dennis Allen said the decision to flip back was more about keeping the reps even.
Let's start with the less exciting part. It's tough to assess Haener's day overall. He went 8-17 for 87 yards and certainly didn't have a bad day, but it was a bit underwhelming. It's worth noting that his two best plays of the day, both to A.T. Perry, were taken away by the refs. The first was on third down when he escaped pressure from both ends, extended and found Perry for what would've been a first down. It was overturned on review because the WR couldn't keep both feet inbounds. The next was a similar situation when he extended to find Perry for a touchdown that was called back due to a hold by Josiah Ezirim.
Haener also had a chance for a game-winning or -tying drive in the final minute, but the series felt frazzled from the start and ended with a last ditch snap that barely got off as players ran back to the line of scrimmage before time expired. There was a near fumble on a play with questionable ball security. It wasn't particularly pretty, but we've seen Jake execute in those scenarios before.
Again, it wasn't a terrible day, but it was overshadowed immensely by Rattler's performance, one that is belied by the stat line of 7-13 for 105 yards and a TD. At least two of those incompletions were straight drops and another was a Jeter-esque throwaway under significant pressure. The completions were impressive, most notably a dime to Equanimeous St. Brown on an out-and-up for a touchdown. He hit A.T. Perry down the goal line on another deep ball. It was a bit underthrown, which kept Perry from scoring, but he got it out under pressure and it set up a TD from Jacob Kibodi on the next play.
What stood out was the poise in the pocket, something I've been critical of to this point. The rookie has had a tendency to get happy feet a bit too early and rely on his athleticism rather than simply navigating the pocket or extending plays to throw. The running option will be there, but going to it too early will erase opportunities in the passing game that can be unlocked by an athletic QB who can extend plays. I thought he did that particularly well today.
The Saints scored 27 points in this game, 10 in the second quarter and 13 in the fourth quarter. The only other points came on a field goal after a fumble recovery coming out of halftime to set up the Saints with a short field (the drive where Perry's TD was called back).
I've felt like this backup QB competition was very close the whole way through, but I gave Haener the edge because he looked more poised and confident. That flipped today, at least in my eyes. If it was a true competition, it's hard not to see today as a winning performance for Spencer. If that wasn't enough, I'm not sure it was ever really a true competition to begin with.
WR Equanimeous St. Brown
If these preseason games actually matter in terms of making the roster, the veteran St. Brown certainly helped his cause today. In a game where so many Saints players were inactive, he was the only true veteran in the WR room and he played like it. We talked about his catch from Rattler that forced him to fight through a pretty big hit to hang on, but that wasn't all.
He finished the game with the team-high in catches (3) for 40 yards. His first catch was from Haener on 3rd and 6. The completion was for 14 yards and kept the chains moving. He also drew an illegal contact penalty on a 3rd and 10 that helped keep that TD drive moving in the second quarter.
When you consider the experience and size (6-5, 214 pounds) in an offense that needs its wide receivers to excel as blockers, it becomes easy to understand why he's here in the first place.
RB Jacob Kibodi
I think all three backs between Kibodi, Jordan Mims and James Robinson had solid days, but if I had to pick who raised their stock the most between the three of them, it's gotta be the Louisiana kid. It was a surreal moment for him, a Baton Rouge native, playing in the Caesars Superdome and leading the Who Dat chant -- and even more of a dream to get in the end zone twice in the process.
If it wasn't for some shoddy end of game defense and execution, those scores would've been what put the Saints over the top. He ran with power and vision. He got outside the numbers when needed and attacked interior gaps with power. His first touchdown run was one of the best running back plays I've seen all preseason.
As with any preseason game, we've got to note that in the second half of this type of game you're not facing much elite talent. Still, the performance is the performance. I had Jacob as a practice squad candidate going into the game and I think that's still where he is, but he's certainly done enough to catch the eye of coaches at this point.
HONORABLE MENTION
Blake Grupe keeps making his kicks, and that's what a kicker needs to do to keep his kicking job. Charlie Smyth has apparently been dealing with a groin injury and that's why he wasn't involved today beyond kickoffs. There will be some conspiracy as to whether the Saints are trying to hide the Irishman. Either way, Grupe hit from 54 and 38 and made all three PATs. That's your starting kicker. ... Trevor Penning is anything but perfect, but I think there were some confidence-building moments in this game. That was particularly true on the last few plays of the first Rattler touchdown drive. On one block he threw the defensive end into the dirt so easily that I thought the guy might've tripped first. Nope. Just a strong man throwing a less strong man and opening up a massive hole for an 11-yard run down to the Tennessee 19. Two plays later he had the key block that allowed Rattler time to find St. Brown for the score. He's taken steps forward each of the last two weeks. Hopefully that translates to the regular season. ... Anfernee Orji is all over the field in every game we've seen thus far. He led the team in tackles again, this time with 9 (4 solo). ... Monty Rice only had three tackles in the defense, but he added another on special teams and also punched out a fumble that set up a Saints score early in the third quarter. ... Samson Nacua ran 106 yards and didn't get credit for anything, so I'm giving him credit here. It was a hell of an effort running back a missed field goal, but he stepped out at the 3. We'll always have the highlight of Mike Hoss yelling "NOOOOOOOO."
THREE DOWN
TE Michael Jacobson
This was a particularly disappointing day for Jacobson because this felt like an opportunity to make the Saints' decisions in the tight end room a lot more complicated. Dallin Holker was down with an injury and Jacobson was getting an opportunity for significant action. He didn't take advantage. On one play he couldn't hang on through contact after what appeared to be an ideally located ball from Rattler. He was targeted twice on the day, but neither went for completions.
What's really going to make the film session review brutal, though, is the penalties. He did have one solid block to spring a run early in the second quarter, but later on the same drive he held on a block that brought back an impressive TD run by James Robinson. It's tough to know whether the run would've gotten sprung without the hold, but it sure looked like if he'd have just let go it'd Robinson could've done the rest. He then had back-to-back penalties on the final kickoff of the game prior to a potential tying or go-ahead drive. One was an illegal formation call, the other a hold. That meant the drive started at the Saints' own 15 and made things a lot more complicated.
Jacobson is still developing at the NFL level and I expect him to land on the practice squad, but he needed a standout day to push for a 53-man roster spot, and this certainly wasn't that.
LOU HEDLEY
The punting situation still feels very competitive, and Lou did himself no favors in this game.
He took his first kick from the New Orleans 43 and put it down inside the 10. This one was really more about Jha'Quan Jackson, with the former Tulane standout turning what looked like good coverage into a 12-yard return. Still, that goes into the books as a 35-yard net punt and another missed opportunity for an inside the 20 kick.
Later it was Hedley placed in a difficult situation with his heels up against the back of the end zone. He didn't deliver, with his 43-yard kick getting returned to the New Orleans 25 and setting up what turned out to be the game-winning touchdown.
The Titans seem to be a top that is adept in the return game, but when you consider this is following an equally shaky performance against the 49ers, it's really tough to be confident about his situation right now. I didn't think Matt Hayball had a particularly strong day, either, so the job might still be Lou's, but I just have a hard time believing the Saints are currently holding onto one of the 32 best punters available right now. They really should be looking around at other NFL rosters to see what might shake loose this week during roster cuts.
Depth CBs
There were several depth DBs that I thought had a chance to put a stamp on their preseason and make a statement that they should stick around on the 53, and I'm not sure if anyone really did that.
There was only one pass defensed the entire day and it was by Johnathan Abram. Rico Payton had a nice moment on a blitz when he blindsided Malik Willis, but it's tough to know how much of that was execution vs the Titans not expecting to get blitzed in the preseason (most teams don't do it and keep the calls/coverages pretty basic).
Rezjohn Wright went down with an injury in the first half and it seemed pretty significant. He could be heard yelling, most likely out of frustration, when he went into the injury tent with his shoe off, and he was distraught as he emerged and walked back to the locker room. These types of games are high-stress, emotional affairs for players on the roster bubble, and he had a chance to stick around.
Joejuan Williams has some obvious upside based on his size alone, but I didn't come away super impressed with his cover skills. Mac McCain also got beat on a long touchdown early in the 4th quarter, though he seemed to be in decent coverage. It was just a better throw.
If I had to pick one, it'd be between Payton and Shemar Jean-Charles, the latter of whom seemed to be in the right spot more often than not, and did well to force an incompletion on a throw into the end zone targeting a Titans TE.
The good news is that none of those players, assuming Marshon Lattimore and Kool-Aid McKinstry can get back healthy, will end up seeing much of the field.
NOTABLES: Bub Means had 2 catches for 17 yards, but I didn't think he had a particularly good day. He had one drop on a play that set up a third and long, and he misplayed a reverse where he just seemed to get lost and ran directly into where a defender was being blocked and just kind of stopped. He's got the benefit of being a rookie pick, but we'll have to see how far that goes. ... Any time you're a rookie trying to justify a spot on the roster or practice squad and you have a penalty that negates a TD, oof. That was Josiah Ezirim today, though he did jump on a fumble to save it from being a turnover.
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